UGT-Based Study of SM Use Among Undergraduates in UAE and Kuwait

Abstract

The technology is getting advanced and likewise the social media is gaining maximum attraction of individuals. The trends of the world are changing day by day so that the impacts are also changing as per needs and demands of the world. Social media has made the changes in the process of interaction between the public and government officials. Middle East communities have great access to new technologies and internet, especially, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) that are recognized by advanced infrastructures. Therefore, a sharp increase in social media use is noticed in the area particularly the youth who are more attracted to these platforms. This paper focus on Uses and gratifications of social media use among college students in United Arab Emirates and Kuwait for three social media sites: Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. Mixed methodologies are applied (quantitative and qualitative) to explore various use and gratifications factors as well as other social factors among youth that contributes in the adoption of these social network sits (SNSs). Moreover, several statistical tests were performed to analyze the collected data. Few research articles have been published about new and social media platforms use in the region; however, comparative studies were rarely noticed regarding this subject. The survey includes (N=190) samples between Kuwaiti and Emirati students. The study reveals that entertainment is the major use and gratification reason for using the three platforms, while the main social factor is identification. Social media is vital when it comes to the issue of the national, political, and business life.